Thursday 23 October 2014

Demutualization definitely delayed

By Ravi Ladduwahetty

Ceylon Finance Today: The demutualization process of the Colombo Stock Exchange will be further delayed by at least another three to six months with the 15 member broking community demanding time to study core structural issues.


This was unanimously decided at a meeting last Friday where the 15 stock brokers were present at an Extra Ordinary General Meeting with the Colombo Stock Exchange where Chairman Vajira Kulatilleke and Director General Rajeewa Bandaranayake were both in attendance.

"This is definitely a complicated issue where we need to study the structural issues which revolve round the issues in relating to ownership, governance and operations and the process is still at a very preliminary stage", the managing director of a top stockbroking company told Ceylon FT on Tuesday night.

He also said that the process which commenced in 1999 has taken well over 15 years and another three to six months would not hurt at all!


It was also a case of, which operating model to use from a series of models that are in the offing and these cannot be decided overnight without studying the implications, he said. 


The meeting lasted only 40 minutes with some getting late to arrive at the EGM and it was decided that another would be held when the brokers reach unanimity on the new model that would be proposed and to be implemented, he said.

Another managing director of one of the 15 broking companies, who was also at the meeting, said that the issues to be sorted out were more on the structure of the ownership where the brokers were to own 75% stake in the joint company with the remaining 25% to be owned by the government, either the Treasury or the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Meanwhile, Colombo Stock Exchange Chairman Vajira Kulatilleke admitted briefly that there were issues to be sorted out and that it would take time, in a brief telephone interview with the Ceylon FT from Bangladesh, where he would be for the next three days. CSE Director-General Rajeewa Bandaranayake also told the Ceylon FT that there was a delay in the implementation of the Demutualization process as the process was yet to be completed. All 15 members of the Colombo Exchange have agreed in principle that the Exchange has to be demutualized and they have also reached a broad consensus on the model to be followed. The Exchange has appointed Ernst and Young, Chartered 


Accountants as the Consultants to develop a suitable model, he said.

The process will have to go through the regulatory approvals to the Securities and Exchange Commission and subsequently to the Finance Ministry for the appropriate legislation to be drafted, he said.
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